


Fine Line

by Bmith



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe, Death Eaters, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fanfiction, Fluff and Angst, Good Slytherins, Hufflepuff Reader, Hufflepuff/Slytherin Inter-House Relationships, Quidditch, Romance, Slow Burn, Slytherin, Young Death Eaters, Yule Ball (Harry Potter)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-13
Updated: 2020-11-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:02:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27535711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bmith/pseuds/Bmith
Summary: There is always a fine line between love and hate, but where would Flora Finbar and Draco Malfoy fall between at the end of the day?Where two Slytherins struggled to understand each other's feelings for each other over the course of Hogwarts.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Original Female Character(s), Draco Malfoy/Other(s), Neville Longbottom/Original Female Character(s), Pansy Parkinson/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 2





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Just an FYI! This is slightly AU in one of the major facts that they aren't fourteen year olds...I hope that reason is given and understandable due to the adult content and themes in this book.

Black strands of hair danced around the girl’s face as trains pulled into the station. In the background, Flora was only focused on other wizarding families, wishing their children goodbye before they board the Hogwarts Express. Her eyes focused back to her parents, trepidation poorly concealed on their behalf. Alistair, her father, held her mother’s shoulders as they were rambling to be safe, mentioning their concern about the Dementors that lurked around the perimeters of the school. Flora already received a long conversation to be wary of Sirius Black and what to do if she ever happened to cross paths with the Azkaban prisoner. 

Yet, Flora thought she heard it all from her mollycoddling parents--but there were still some secrets Aliza and Alistair had yet to tell her. The last thing they ever wanted to happen with their daughter was to hand her into the arms of jeopardy. Apprehension held tightly in their chest for a valid reason; they lost their close friends when they attended Hogwarts. 

The two older Hufflepuffs pulled their teenager in for a tender hug, dreading the fact that would be letting go of her and won’t see her for quite some time. Flora knew well enough her mother was always on tenterhooks--other than her shaky hands, the wrinkles on her forehead that grew and grew each year became more noticeable throughout the years. 

On the other hand, Flora was apathetic towards her departure towards her family; she missed her friends, the smell of the castle, and working alongside Hagrid with the magical creatures--her favorite pastime. 

“Here, take this darling.” Aliza dug her hand into her purse and handed the teenager several chocolates, neatly wrapped in some foil. She knitted her brows together, glancing at the sweets in the palm of her hand before placing them into the pocket of her cardigan. 

“What are these for? I already packed a sandwich for the ride.” Flora trailed off, hazel eyes flickering between her parents. 

“The dementors, Flora. Chocolate helps with endorphins. Eat them when you feel sad--but not all the time.” Her mother pointed out. The simple action and thought made Flora smile, appreciating their simplicity. 

“Thanks mum,” She replied, glancing back at the train and to the clock. “I should get going now, I want to get into a private compartment with my friends before they get filled.” 

“Before you go--do you remember what we told you?” Alistair questioned his daughter. 

For several moments she pursed her lips, trying to recollect all the information they ramble off to her this summer. She tilted her head to the side, shrugging her shoulders. “Not to punch Pansy Parkinson’s dit face?” She suggested, biting down on the bottom of her lip, knowing well that wasn’t what they were talking about; however, last year she got detention for giving Pansy a bloody nose during dinner in the Great Hall. 

They both released a disappointing sigh at their daughter’s response, knowing damn well she was bloody proud of her decision making. “No--but that too--Just...write to us, we’re worried about you.” Her mother gave her a sympathetic smile, the disappointing reaction fading from her face. 

“I promise.” Flora pinky promised her parents, giving them both a kiss on the check before she boarded the train. 

As Flora explored the corridor of the train, she glanced through all the private compartments, seeing which ones were open. She stopped at a compartment, a stranger sleeping against the wall. With ease, she decided against that compartment and picked the empty one beside it. Shutting the door behind her, she opened up her kennel to let her cat, Zero, out. She held the calm cat in her lap, fingers combing through his fur and enjoying the soft purrs. 

As time passed, more students boarded the train and she waited patiently for her best friends to join her. Flora offered friendly smiles to familiar faces (Hermonie Granger, Neville Longbottom, and Dean Thomas) as they walked down the corridor. 

When the door slid open, she was quite surprised to see that Neville decided to stop by and say hello. He offered her an awkward--yet charming and friendly smile, “Hey Flora, h-how’re you doing?” The teenager inquired and gave a small wave to her cat. 

For some reason, Flora fancied Neville--she couldn’t put her finger on it. Despite everyone’s claims, she did believe he belonged in Gryffindor. She found his boyish smile, round face, and shaggy hair endearing. Neville had been one of the nicest people she’d ever met, in fact, he was one one of the only people she wrote letters to over summer break. Just because they were in separate houses, doesn’t mean she cared for him any less. The letters would always bring warmth into her life, he always had something interesting to say. 

“Neville! I’m doing fine, how about you?” She spoke fondly to the wizard, shifting her body to give him more attention. He slid into the compartment, not wanting to create traffic in the corridor. The two made small talk for several moments, there wasn’t much to catch up about, but they both cherished time spent together. Both of them knew this was the easiest time and place to talk without ample of judgmental whispers and glances from other houses. 

When Flora’s friends stood at the doorway of the compartment, Neville’s cheeks flushed before he stood up. The Slytherin gave him a quick hug as he exited the compartment and her friends flooded in. Cherri Webber and Silas Rigby gave the girl a questioning look as they took their seats next to each other. 

“You and Longbottom, huh? Quite interesting.” Silas mumbled, trying to hold back a snicker, as well as Cherri. 

“He’s my friend, Rigby. You must know what being a friend is like, right?” She rhetorically questioned.

The wizard and witches discussed what happened over their summer breaks. 

The two half blood students bantered with each other, as they grew up as childhood friends. Apparently, the two went to a summer camp where they swam in lakes with other muggles. It involved hiking up mountains, eating s’mores, and watching football. Several of those things flew over Flora’s head, but she was just happy to hear that they were safe. Cherri gossiped about the shenanigans her older brother got into while he was visiting America. 

Apparently, those American girls were a lot different than the ones here. Whatever that meant, Flora knew he must be enjoying his time over there. Silas continued the conversation about how his parents were implying that he could be getting the newest Nimbus for the holidays. 

Undeniably, Flora still noticed that Silas’ feelings towards Cherri were still rather romantic, but yet neglected. She wondered how oblivious he could be sometimes, but perhaps ignorance is bliss. Silas would stare at the beautiful Slytherin, but she would simply ignore the Silas and be gawking at someone else. Cherri laid her eyes on another Slytherin, one that had Flora wish she would’ve been choked to death instead of hearing the name slip off of Cherri’s tongue. Bloody Pansy Parkinson. 

Cherri divulged that particular secret in the girl’s washroom one day, making Flora guffawed. “Too funny, angel.” Flora commented as she washed her hands, but when silence followed, she glanced up at Cherri to notice her cheeks were rosy red and her fist turned white from clenching tightly. 

The witches stared at each other for several seconds, before Cherri slammed Flora up against the wall, Cherri’s wand digging into the other’s neck. Her blue eyes were filled with dark clouds, about to storm with rain she’d never want to witness. 

“I swear on Merlin, if you tell anyone, you’ll regret it.” She spat through clenched teeth. Flora wasn’t phased, her anger was nothing new. Her head ached from the sudden collision and the pressure on her neck was uncomfortable, but the tone of Cherri’s poisonous voice only made her crack a smile. 

“You know I won’t, Webber. Put your wand down so we won’t be late for supper.” Flora pushed Cherri’s shoulders to get her off her body. The two girls adjusted their robes and uniform before returning back to the dining hall. 

The secret never left her mind ever since she found out. It was a secret she wanted to share with Silas, but obviously it wasn’t her place to allocate that kind of information. Perhaps, it would save him some grief whenever it does become revealed. She only wanted her friends to witness minimal emotional turbulence as possible. As much as she was convinced, they could have been soulmates, but perhaps she was just erroneous. 

The two Slytherins and the Ravenclaw were engrossed into a conversation, discussing how Silas would kick ass this year with his new Nimbus. A comment Flora never wanted to make would’ve been that she had no clue how he got onto the time--he’s rather clumsy. 

Until someone cleared their throat, the wizards would have never recognized the person standing by the door. White slicked back hair appeared in Flora’s vision, causing her to roll her eyes. “What do you want, Malfoy?” Her one of voice was rather sharp, not wanting to spend any more time focusing on his attention. 

Something changed with Flora this year, she was more bold in her statements and that threw Draco for a curveball. He admired her quick remarks, but he wished that they stung more. Once he realized he had been silent for several moments, he shook his head. 

“Finbar, what are you doing around them? Come join us in the compartment.” He offered, a smug look on his face. 

“I don’t care if my friends are muggle born, Malfoy. That’s a concept you’re going to have to understand and accept. That purebloods aren’t the perfect wizards. I mean, look at you--and your dad.” Flora defended her friends. They sat there, biting down on their bottom lips trying to hold back any laughter. “Instead, you should care about the people you surround yourself by. At least I know my friends actually like me; they aren’t afraid of me.” Flora snapped. 

Malfoy remained silent, biting down on his tongue. He never knew why he hated mudbloods, but that was something his father forced on him since he was a child. Clenching his fist, he just walked away from the compartment. 

“I’m surprised he isn’t going to tell his father about this.” Cherri mocked him once he was further down the corridor. 

“I don’t care if he does, hopefully it might be some insight to what dits they are.” Flora rolled her eyes, petting her cat to help her calm her nerves. 

Zero fell asleep in her lap, the purrs comforting the girl as she glimpsed out the window after they took off from the platform. Her head pressed against the window, adoring the view. Cherri’s legs were draped across Silas’ lap, his hands tapping against her as they shared candy from the trolley with each other. She reveled in the presence of her friends, but she knew that she’d never be as close to them as they are with each other. 

Suddenly, the train came to a halt, causing Cherri to tumble some of her Bertie Botts all over the grimy compartment floor. “For fucksakes,” She clamored. 

Flora lifted her head off the window, noticing Zero’s hair standing up on the back of her arched spine. The three of them shared glances, noticing that they could see each other’s breath. Frost laced across the train’s window, layering on top of the glass, spreading from one side to another. The glass was frigid to the touch. 

“What’s going on?” She whispered, trying to see if anything was happening outside the train. Clouds overcasted the sky, lacking any warmth from the sun. The girl blinked several times while petting her cat to help Zero stay comfortable and alleviate how startled her pet was . The feeling she once felt towards her friends vanished into thin air. Sadness clung onto her skin like a heavy rain jacket, weighing the smile off her face. 

Silas’ hand snatched his wand, as if he knew what to do if the situation went awry. Her eyes flickered back over to the window and saw a dark, foul, ghastly figure. A soul sucking fiend glanced at her before traveling further ahead of them. Making eye contact with the creature only stripped her away of energy. She continued to watch them lurk around the train, swarming likes bees. 

A howl of agony snapped them out of their trances, the laced frost dissolving from the window and the warmth of the sun returned. Zero’s coat relaxed and they all looked at each other. “Why did Dementors come to the train?” Cherri narrowed her eyes, rubbing her arms to return any feelings back into them. 

“No clue, but my parents told me that they would be at Hogwarts just in case Sirius Black were to come here. I’m not sure why he would...but...I have no clue why they came to the train.” Flora trailed off, body shifting forward once the train started traveling once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi there, I re-edited this chapter for plot purposes :) nothing too dramatic has changed, other than her house.


	2. Chapter Two

Flora sat beside Cherri in the Great Hall. She sipped on what tasted like Christmas, warmth of cinnamon, nutmeg, and a whole pack of sugar. She kept her fingers tightly wrapped around the glass filled with pumpkin juice, occasionally sipping it as she listened to conversations around her. Her eyes fell on a certain Hufflepuff across the table, Cedric Diggory. 

Cedric and the girl had a special type of relationship, perhaps the brother she had always wanted. With both of her parents being Hufflepuffs, they two grew up quite closely. During the summers, he would always tease the girl, claiming that Flora could easily replace anyone on a quidditch team if she ever decided to try out. Despite them not actually being siblings, she didn’t want to take that away from him--she thought he deserved his own time to shine and that was it. 

The Hufflepuff made a promise to the younger Slytherin that they would practice when they got to Hogwarts, to help with proper training. The faith Cedric held in Flora was flattering, but everyone knew Cedric wouldn’t speak anything muddy about her. Flora felt relieved to be home, as being around Cedric made the numb feeling of the Dementors fade away. There was comfort in being friends with Cedric, the older brother she never had, but yet always wanted. With him around, Cedric always managed to bring the good out of Flora Finbar. Simply, she wouldn’t know what to do without him. 

As Flora took another sip, her eyes scanned the room. Silas was chit-chatting with our peers from his house, specifically Cho-Chang. His fingers were tapping against the table, awfully close to her hand. If it wasn’t for Cedric, Flora would believe that Cho and Silas were compatible. They easily seemed to suit each other, but Silas was oblivious to any emotions or feelings whatsoever. 

Perhaps that's why Flora was good friends with the Ravenclaw, he never really asked her how she was doing when she was obviously at her worst. 

Cherri’s elbows were leaning against the long wooden table, her blue eyes gazing towards Pansy. The thought of the two being together made her sick, despite being close with Cherri, those two would have created hell in the hallways of Hogwarts--almost purely unstoppable by anyone’s means. Flora wanted the best for her friend, but she knew without a doubt, Pansy would be the worst for Cherri. 

But yet, she knew how much she adored Pansy. Every time Flora would walk into the Slytherin common room, Cherri would rush to grab Flora’s hand, tightly intertwining their fingers only to be dragged up the stairs to gossip about the certain girl who constantly ridicules Flora.

Flora was accustomed to Cherri teasing her, but that didn’t make it right for Pansy to tag along. It’s almost as if it fueled each other to be more venomous to other peers around them. The girl knew that there was an ounce in Cherri that cared for her, but with Pansy--there was absolutely no heart in a girl like that. 

That’s why Pansy Parkinson got slapped last year for making fun of her parents. The moment Flora’s pale hand collided onto her olive skin, she felt a sense of power, as if she just setted Parkinson straight. Every now and then, Flora would smile at reminiscing the burning sensation in her palm and the tear running down Pansy’s face. 

Sadly, it did not do anything like Flora hoped it would have.

In reality, it made Cherri more furious, commenting that she would be ruining her chance with Pansy. Flora simply didn’t care at that point, no one talked about her parents with disrespect. There was a fine line for Flora between being sorted into Slytherin or Hufflepuff, but Slytherin took the lead. 

Although, there was one thing Cherri and Flora were on the same page about: what the hell did Pansy see in Draco? Was it the Malfoy status? Were there some remaining decent qualities to the boy? Perhaps. Overall, disgusting. Well, Cherri would argue that his personality made her stomach churn and would rather spend several hours with Snape than a minute alone with Malfoy. 

Flora knew he had the capability of being nice, as he once was to her when they were younger. Although, she knew that being kind was brave and Draco was far from being brave. 

The pair of hazel eyes continued to glance down the Slytherin table, eyes falling over the black robes hinted with green. Naturally, her eyes snapped to who she felt like was staring at her. Platinum blonde hair, blue eyes, and a smirk--Draco. 

The certain Slytherin boy winked at her as he bit into a green apple, all of his lackeys laughing as they turned around to face her. She refused to let that simple interaction make her face flush--no, she hated him. After what he did to her, Draco managed to obliderate all the trust she had towards him with anything person. What was Draco trying to get out of Flora? Simply, she furrowed her brows and grimaced--as if--and rolled her eyes before taking a bit out of her apple as well. 

Draco chewed on the bottom of his lip before continuing his conversation with his group.

\----------

_“As if, Malfoy!” Flora laughter roared from the kitchen, creating foul food concoctions. Draco’s mouth gaped open before he slapped his hands on her lips to conceal her laughter._

_“Finbar, we have to be quiet! We can’t be in trouble and my dad can’t hear about this.” He whispered shouted, observing the room to see if the house elves were around. The two children stared at each other, biting down on the bottom of their lips before Draco slowly removed it._

_“I’ll protect you from your father,” She whispered, before taking a bite from pudding. Draco’s body went stiff at her comment, she didn’t know what she was saying. Draco got lost in thought about his father--his father could never know this new friendship with Hufflepuff's daughter--that is the straight direction to trouble for the young boy. “I promise.” She added, smiling at him, locking her pinky with his._

_Draco wasn’t sure for how long he’d been stuck in his thoughts, but they got interrupted when Flora yanked on his hand before tugging on his arm. Draco almost tripped over his robe as they ran down the corridors of the school._

_Draco just stared at her raven locks as she ran in front of him, guiding him to the Slytherin common room. “The house elves! They caught us!” She panted, trying to keep up with the own pace of her feet. Their robes caught wind, floating behind them as they ran for their lives. The sound of their feet pattering against the floor was far from being discreet._

_There was a sense of adrenaline that ran through the two children--they were caught. Flora was living off the rush it provided; however, the boy’s mind was racing with the image of his father and the harsh words he had yet to speak--but knew what was coming._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just a lil filler! hope you enjoyed, thanks for reading.


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